, 1887-05-06
FAIRY LAMPS OF The SEA.
stsrHSh Tina sparkle Like Brilliant Coma.
PhoSpiIoresccnt Jcllyhsh.

Phosphoresccnt Jcllyhsh.
when tho contents of q dredge tro
landed upon the deck at midday the GU
rious shapes and colors OF animals alone
attract attention; but if they ore ex-
amincd at night they develop n new
beauty, cleaning with q wondrous light
that il so little understood. The star
fishes brought up at certain places arc all
seemingly heated to a white heat, the
CLEANS running up and down the arms,
making the animal a marvel of beauty.
Especially among the stars known as
]opiiinrans is the light most brilliant and
interesting. Even the very young ones
sparkle like gems. A dredge has been
taken from q great depth fairly overflow
ing with these dazzling creatures, telling
a wonderful story of the condition of
things below the surface. These are the
lights of the bottom, and in shoa!er water
we shall find M and corals emit
ting a wonderful light.
Perhaps the most striking light given
ia 4 group of polyps, growing upon a
stem three or four feet in length, resem-
bling a tall candlestick. The name Of
this creature is the umbellularia, and it
was first found in deep water off the
coast of Greenland, the trawl bringing
up such large number that it was evident
that the ship had passed over a veritable
forest of them. Imagine a corl-ield a
mile or 50 below the surface. the stalks
four feet long and the ears emitting a
golden greenish light Of wonderful soft
ness; think of this as spread over acres
of surface to an indefinite extent. the
lights waving here and there in gentle I'M
dulations; imagine fishes darling through
them with cleaning headlights, others
outlined in fire, while far above are great
globes of light, with soft aureolas, and
some idea of this world beneath the sea
can be formed.
The jellytish, or meduse, are among
the most remarkable of light givers. and,
with few exceptions. they are luminous,
some being more 80 than others, and much
of the phosphorescence of the Pacific, as
seen from the decks of vessels, Is due to
these creatures that are so beautifully
formed and so delicate in color, yet in
reality are 90 per cent. water; in all Jelly
fish D per cent. will represent the solid
part.
In some, as pelagia, the entire animal
Ii luminous, its shape being outlined in
full, as it were, while in others only GER
tain portions are light emitting. Not only
are these creatures phosphorescent, but
the color are different; some emit a
golden light; in others it is n green or
azure, and some seem to combine several
tints. Again, certain ones are luminous
all the time; others show their light in a
fitful way or when disturbed; and during
the autumn of the year, when these
radiant creatures are hurled against the
C and ground up, their lights seem to
combine in tt,rpin~ fln nrt,-. $1,000, TO-
a seething caldron.
Among the c-rustaceans, or, as they are
commonly called, the crabs, we find some
interesting light givers. Several years
ago some explorers on our southwestern
coast found that as night came on the
snow sludge along shore gave out light,
and when it was fully dark the display
was extremely remarkable; at every step
flashes of light splashed about every
where, tinted with an intense blue hue,
and the scene presented could be dupli-
Gated if it were possible for man TO walk
through molten metal. The little creature
that produced this light was extremely
small, but what it lacked in size it made
up in numbers, the cold, icy water being
fairly alive with them, each one flashing
like a gem.
Probably nearly all of the deep sea forms
are light givers. either over their entire
surface or upon certain places. One
which l call to mind has luminous
bands upon its legs, while another, with
an unpronounceable name, has luminous
eyes. The worms that hide in the mud
are brilliant light givers, some emitting
lights of several colors. The sea plumes
and fans of the south arc gorgeous in a
lilac light. In fact, in some places every
thing brought to the surface is a light
Giver, so that we can well imagine that
while the deep sea has no sunlight. ma
ture has done her best to compensate for
the omission.
Even among the shells we find light
givers. The little cleodora, with its little
fairy ship or shell, emits a light now Of
intense blue, again red or white, while
the pholas, the little bivalve that enters
solid rock with all the ease of the miner,
has a brilliant blush light that continues
even after the death of the animal, and
as long G us the time of Pliny q writer
said that those who dined upon the
pholas appeared to be eating fire, so vivid
was the phosphorescence. Some inter-
esting experiments have been tried with
this light giver. Thus by placing one in
honey its luminosity was retained for a
year. AS may be surmised such expert
ments werc made with the idea of rem
dering the phosphorescence of the pholas
permanent, and if the secret of animal
l"u:nosity could be discovered and APP
piled to the want of the man it would
without doubt revolutionize existing
methods.
We have seen that the deep sea and
shallow waters have their lights, yet If
al tl1se were combined the most deli
c1tely cdiusted thermometer would fail
to SHOW The slightest elevation Of tenn
perature, and this is the popularity of
Hhosphorescent light. 1t is heatless. CLOVIS
in Vacuum, under water-in fact. IN all
CONDITIONS where ordinary light fails. II
ii is II combustion no one can prove it,
and a consumption of organic fuel, nc
companied by light but not heat, is diff
cult TO understand. Endless theories have
been ~propounded to explain the phe-
no'nena, and it is safe TO say that very
little more is known to-day than was adj
vanced where phosphorescence was first